


Hill House Five

by Quipxotic



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio), The Haunting of Hill House (TV 2018)
Genre: 1980s, Alternate Universe - Doctor Who Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Audio 026: The Toy, Audio 087: The Gathering, Canonical Character Death, Community: poetry_fiction, Crossover, Episode: The Day of the Doctor, Episode: s01e06 Dalek, Gen, Haunted Houses, Inspired by Poetry, Minisode: The Night of the Doctor, Prompt Fic, Serial: s115 Logopolis, Serial: s124 Snakedance, Serial: s135 The Caves of Androzani, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-05-28 06:51:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19388752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quipxotic/pseuds/Quipxotic
Summary: What starts as a typical adventure in the TARDIS turns deadly when the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, and Tegan come to the aid of the Crain family.Has the Doctor met his match in Hill House?





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [sanguinity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanguinity) for the beta reading, general advice, and for allowing me to rant about how much the floor plan to Hill House vexes me.

> So, of course, hush, of course, wonder.  
>  And when they guide you up the steps  
>  to gaze into a field of mirrors,  
>  There can be no doubt that what you're looking at  
>  is life, and when you turn back into the dark,  
>  it's either the future of the past,  
>  But most probably it's death.
> 
> \- From “The View from Inside My Coffin” by Tishani Doshi

> “No live organism can continue to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality. Even larks and katydids are supposed by some to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills holding darkness within. It had stood so for a hundred years before my family moved in and might stand a hundred more. Within, walls stood upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm. Silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House. And whatever walked there, walked alone.” - _The Haunting of Hill House_ by Steven Crane*

Fog shrouded the house and its hills, making all the normal early morning sounds seem distant and unreal. Hidden among the bird song and hum of cars traveling to and from the nearby town, there was another sound - the wheezing of a different kind of vehicle as it materialized. 

Engines thudded and the light on top of the police box dimmed as the TARDIS landed in the forest. The door opened and a blonde young man in a cricketing outfit hurried out. “Let’s see,” the Fifth Doctor held up a small device that beeped periodically. He turned slowly in place until the sound became stronger. “This seems to be the direction.” He glanced impatiently behind him before striding forward. “Tegan? Nyssa? Hurry up, I don’t want to lose the trace.”

“Keep your shirt on, Doc.” Tegan followed Nyssa out of the TARDIS and closed the door. “What’s gotten into him?”

“I’m not entirely sure.” Nyssa frowned as she walked beside her best friend. “He came out of the workshop this morning muttering about time anomalies and hooked that device to the console. Then the ship began to shake-” 

“Yeah,” Tegan huffed a laugh, “that part I felt. Nothing like being woken up by the TARDIS doing its best impression of a clothes dryer.”

“The ship’s sensors indicated we’d come through some extreme temporal turbulence. The next thing I knew we were here and he was rushing out in that way he does when he’s preoccupied.” 

Tegan sighed. “Great. Well, when we catch up with him that’s the first thing we’ll get sorted.” She glanced around. “Looks like we’re back on Earth at least. I wonder when? Wait,” she squinted into the distance, “is that a house?”

The trees thinned and the two young women stepped into a clearing. The large grey shape of a turret emerged from the fog. As they walked around to the front of the building, they realized it was part of a Tudor-style mansion. The windows were dark and there were no signs of life within. 

Tegan whistled. “Who lives here, Dracula or Frankenstein?” 

“Neither,” the Doctor replied as they joined him a short distance from the structure, “unless we somehow found ourselves in the Land of Fiction.” 

“Do you mean that metaphorically?” 

“No, it’s a pocket dimension I’ve visited a few times.” He turned his attention from the beeping device to his friends. “Decided to join me at last?” 

“Some of us don’t have legs as long as yours, blondie,” Tegan quipped.

He eyed her footwear. “I suppose the heels had nothing to do with it. When will you learn to wear sensible shoes?”

“These are my sensible shoes,” Tegan began, but Nyssa interrupted her.

“Doctor, will you please explain what’s going on?”

He looked confused. “Didn’t I say?”

“No,” they cried together with nearly equal amounts of annoyance. 

He pushed back his panama hat and pocketed the tracking device. “The TARDIS detected a temporal anomaly while we were in the Vortex. When I scanned it, guess what I found.” He leaned forward. “Artron energy.”

Nyssa raised her eyebrows. “Signs of time travel?” 

“Perhaps. Certainly not something you’d expect to find on Earth in the 1980s.”

“Could it not be one of your other selves?” 

“Nyssa’s right, you come here so often I’m surprised you don’t bump into yourself all the time.” 

“No, the TARDIS’s energy patterns are unique and easily identifiable, at least me.”

“Perhaps it’s the Time Lords,” Nyssa began.

He shook his head. “I detected no sign of Time Lord technology. But it was strange - the traces of Artron energy were mixed with several other elements, some of which could have psychic properties and others which I couldn’t identify at all. It could be evidence of experiments in time travel or, if this were another planet, I’d suspect a natural phenomena, something organic to the environment, but here-” 

“So, what does all that mean?”

“No idea.” He grinned at them again. “Exciting, isn’t it?” The Doctor strode off toward the house. “Come on, my detector indicates high levels of Artron energy inside the house.” 

“What are you gonna do?” Tegan and Nyssa hurried after him again. “Knock on the door and ask to see their time machine?” 

“I thought I’d introduce myself.” The Doctor knocked on the door. When no one answered, he knocked again. “Hello?” He tried the door handle. “Unlocked. Hello! Is anyone in there?”

“Oh honestly.” Tegan pushed past him into the house. “Hello?” She looked around main entrance hallway with an expression of admiration mixed with disgust. Gorgeously sculpted human figures were everywhere in the form of freestanding statues and decorations on the ornate grand staircase. A large stained glass window at the back of the main foyer filtered the early morning light to create pools of color on the floor and walls. Hallways and rooms led off in five directions on the main floor and the grand staircase divided to curve to the second floor on both left and right. Above the three travelers, a gigantic iron chandelier swayed slightly even though they felt no breeze. All the elements were beautiful individually, but put together they created an atmosphere of gloom and foreboding. “Welcome to Hill House,” Tegan scoffed. “Clearly someone didn’t know when to leave well enough alone with the decorating. Building a place like this is just asking for it to be haunted.” 

“Now Tegan, it’s not polite to just barge in-”

“You want to find this Artron stuff? How’s standing on the front step yelling gonna help do that?”

Reluctantly, the Doctor stepped inside. “I suppose you’re right.”

“It does happen. Quite frequently, in fact-” 

Nyssa rolled her eyes at their companionable bickering and moved to join them. She had taken a few steps inside when an excruciating pain seared through her head and she cried out.

Instantly, they both rushed to her. “Nyssa?” The Doctor took her arm to steady her. “What’s wrong?”

“I sense something Something…old.” She met the Doctor’s eyes. “Something hungry.”

“Really?” The Doctor looked at her closely. “What else do you sense?”

“Doctor!” Tegan glared at him. “Can’t you see Nyssa’s in pain?” Taking Nyssa’s arm, she led her to sit down on the central staircase. “Whatever you want to know can wait until she feels better.”

“Of course.” He rolled up his panama hat and stuck it into his coat pocket as he followed them. “This could have something to the energy field I was tracking or the temporal anomaly…or I suppose it could be a coincidence. It’s always dangerous to hypothesize without evidence.” Sitting down next to Nyssa, he checked her eyes and her pulse. “How are you feeling now?” 

“I’m fine, Doctor,” Nyssa insisted, but she was still very pale. “The feeling was so intense. For a moment I felt completely overwhelmed, but it’s passing now.” The three of them looked up at the sounds of footsteps rapidly approaching from above them. “It seems this place isn’t empty after all.” 

“Who are you?” A tall man with dark hair raced down the steps. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt that bore stains of dust and something oily. “I thought I heard someone scream-”

“Yes, that was us I’m afraid…or rather, my young friend here.” The Doctor ran up the steps and held out his hand. “How do you do? I’m the Doctor and this is Nyssa and Tegan. I assume you must be the owner of this,” he looked around, “…lovely home. Quite Gothic. A bit dark for my tastes but it does set a mood. What did you say your name was?”

“I didn’t.” The man blinked and shook the Doctor’s hand looking utterly bewildered by the torrent of words. “I’m Hugh. Hugh Crain.”

“Lovely to meet you, Mr. Crain. I’m afraid we let ourselves into your home, although in our defense the door was unlocked-”

“Was it?” Hugh looked even more confused. “I could have sworn I locked it-”

“Hugh?” A beautiful woman wearing a silk dressing gown walked cautiously downstairs. “Is everything alright?”

“Liv…yeah, I think so. The Doctor and his friends were about to explain-”

“Look,” Tegan interrupted, “the Doctor’s science experiments can wait. Nyssa’s ill. Could we have a glass of water for her?”

Nyssa waved away her concern. “I said I’m fine, Tegan.” 

“But you’re not. You look like a stiff breeze would knock you over.” Tegan appealed to the woman. “Please?”

“Of course.” Liv Crain walked between her husband and the Doctor. “Let’s go to the kitchen.” 

As the three women walked down a hallway to the right, Hugh Crain turned back to the Doctor. “That woman - Tegan, was it? She said something about a science experiment?” 

“Tegan was being flippant, as usual. I’m searching for something called Artron energy. Have you ever heard of it?”

“No. Should I have?”

“Probably not, given this epoch.” 

“What?”

The Doctor waved his hand. “It’s not important. In general Artron energy is fairly benign, but combined with certain technologies or substances, it can be dangerous. Which is why I’m so interested in your house, Mr. Crain.”

Hugh looked skeptically at the Doctor. “Tell me more.”

— — 

In the kitchen, Liv handed a glass of water to Nyssa who winced slightly. “Thank you.”

“Still hurts?” Tegan sat at the small table beside her friend. “I could run back to the TARDIS, get you something for it-”

“No, but thank you. It’s strange, I don’t get headaches as a rule.”

“You’re lucky.” Liv sat down across from them. “I have the worst migraines. They’ve been particularly bad lately, ever since we moved into this house.”

The younger women exchanged a look. “When was that,” Nyssa asked. 

“A little over a month ago. My husband and I flip houses. I’m an architect, you see. I design them and Hugh builds them,” she chuckled, “…or in this case repairs them.” She stared into the distance as if remembering something. “We’d hoped to have this place fixed up and ready to sell by the end of the summer, but it’s taking longer than we planned.” Liv’s eyes refocused on her two guests. “What about you? What’s your story?”

“My name’s Tegan Jovanka. I used to be an airline stewardess before I met the Doctor. Now I travel with him and Nyssa.”

Liv looked expectantly at Nyssa and she paused, trying to decide how best to explain her past. “My parents died when I was very young-”

“I’m sorry to hear that-”

“Thank you. I guess you could say the Doctor was my guardian after that. Now, he’s a very good friend…practically family.” 

“And who is he, this Doctor? Why are you all here?” 

“The Doctor was tracking some sort of energy-”

“Artron,” Nyssa supplied.

Tegan waved her hand. “Yeah whatever. All that scientific mumbo jumbo is more your area than mine. Anyway, he tracked whatever it was to this house.”

Liv frowned. “Is this stuff dangerous?”

“Artron energy can be quite beneficial to humans.” Tegan nudged Nyssa, reminding her that now might not be the best time to bring up the fact that neither she nor the Doctor were human. “But the Doctor said it was mixed with other elements, some of which are unknown. We came here to learn more about it.” 

“So…you’re what? Scientists?”

“That’s exactly what we are.” The Doctor grinned as he followed Hugh into the kitchen. “Well, Nyssa and I are at least, Tegan is more of a-”

Tegan narrowed her eyes. “Watch it.”

“Research assistant,” he finished grinning at her. “Mrs. Crain, I was just explaining to your husband how important it is that we get to the bottom of these energy readings.”

Hugh touched his wife’s shoulder. “He said it could cause side affects like headaches, Liv-”

“Really?” Liv looked up at the Doctor. “Is it…can you fix it if you find out what it is? Our children live here with us.”

“I’ll certainly do my best,” he assured her. The Doctor’s eyes lit up as an idea occurred to him. “We could even help you get the place ready for sale. I’m rather handy-”

Tegan scoffed, thinking about the TARDIS - stuck in the form of a police box and never arriving in the right place. “That’s not what I’ve seen.” 

The Doctor ignored her. “What do you say?” 

Hugh looked hopefully at his wife. “I think it’s worth a shot. Liv?” 

She studied the Doctor’s face for a few minutes longer before nodding. “Why not? It could be good to have some more company for a day or two.” She turned to Nyssa and Tegan. “The house’s caretakers, the Dudleys, are very nice but not the most social people.”

“Great.” Hugh smiled. “Come on, I’ll give you a tour of Hill House-”

Tegan laughed. “You call it that too? Mind you, it does look like a haunted house-”

Hugh blinked at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Hill House. The novel by Shirley Jackson. They made it into a movie too.” Tegan shivered. “Creepy stuff.”

Hugh and Liv looked at each other and shook their heads. “Never heard of it,” Hugh said. “I’ve heard of Shirley Jackson - our middle daughter is reading one of her books now - but I’ve never heard of that one. This place is called Hill House because the Hill family built and lived in it for decades until we bought it from them.”

“Seriously?” Tegan raised an eyebrow. “That’s a weird coincidence.” 

“But hardly relevant at the moment.” The Doctor ushered his friends from the room. “Right now, a tour sounds a splendid idea…if you feel up to it, Nyssa?”

“I’m fine now, thank you. I was wondering about the statues-” 

“Doctor,” Tegan whispered as Nyssa and Hugh went ahead of them, “what about what Nyssa felt?”

“She seems back to normal now. From what I’ve seen so far, this place practically pulses with energy fields. What Nyssa felt could just be a side-effect-”

“What if it isn’t? Doc, she said she sensed something hungry-”

“True, but let’s not blow that out of proportion. Hungry doesn’t mean dangerous or evil, after all-”

“With our luck it does. And why don’t they know about _The Haunting of Hill House_? It was pretty famous in my time and this can't be much after that. What if-”

“I don’t know, Tegan,” he said to forestall her asking him more questions, “until I have a chance to do some tests I won’t know anything. Just…keep your eyes and ears open.” He hurried past her to catch up with the others. 

Tegan rolled her eyes and followed. “Don’t I always?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, some housekeeping (so to speak) first:
> 
> I started writing this back in January when the Poetry Fiction moderator gifted me with the wonderful bit of poetry from Tishani Doshi that begins this story. I had just finished watching the Netflix series "The Haunting of Hill House" and knew it would match perfectly with the quote, but I also wanted to mix a little _Doctor Who_ in the story because of the role Time plays in the Hill House series. So I started writing and I'd gotten a good way into a draft before I realized that I couldn't make the TARDIS team I'd started with (Eight, Liv, and Helen from the Big Finish audios) work in this setting. 
> 
> And so, here I am six months into 2019 starting over from scratch. I had hoped to write the whole thing before posting any of it, but since I've become a bit bogged down in writing this the second time around I'm hoping that posting the first two chapters will help give me some momentum. With luck, I'll have this thing completed by the end of the year. *fingers crossed*
> 
> The second quote at the beginning of this story is obviously actually from the Shirley Jackson novel but with some modifications made by the series. In keeping with how the quote is treated in universe, I'm citing it as Steven Crane's instead.
> 
> Finally, this is probably going to be more of a _Doctor Who_ story than a Hill House story, but I'm going to try to write it so that fans of either show can read it without having seen the other one.


	2. Welcome to Hill House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time travelers get a tour and meet the twins.

“This decor is quite,” Nyssa paused, trying to think of the most polite yet honest way to describe the house, “…distinctive, Mr. Crain-”

“Hugh, please.” He led her through the solarium, where floor to ceiling windows were starting to offer views of the grounds now the fog was burning off. The weak sunlight cast weird shadows on the floor and walls as it fell on the many monumental statues and large, circular sofas dotting the room. “It’s something else, isn’t it? We were lucky to get it so cheap.” Hugh shrugged. “Or at least so I thought before Liv started having migraines.” 

“It’s certainly a large home for two people to renovate,” the Doctor said, joining them. “Unless you have help?”

“The Dudleys help out, so do our kids whenever they can.”

Nyssa perked up. “How many children do you have?

“Five. Steve, our oldest, is twelve. Then there’s Shirley, Theo, and the twins, Luke and Nellie who are six years old.”

Tegan, who had been staring at one of the statues, shivered. “Can’t imagine moving into a place like this at their age. I’d have nightmares every night.”

“We’ve had a bit of that, particularly from our youngest. It’s also an old house - lots of odd sounds and late at night it’s easy to let your imagination run amok.” Hugh shrugged. “It’s not like we’ll be here forever. With luck we’ll finish the renovations in two months or so and be able to afford to build a place of our own.” Hugh chuckled fondly. “Liv calls it ‘our forever home’ - already has plans drawn up and everything.”

Nyssa smiled. “You sound proud of her.”

“I am. She’s incredibly talented.”

“There must not be much left to do.” Tegan looked around. “Other than looking like the Addam’s family’s summer home, the place seems to be in good shape.”

“It varies.” Hugh led them into the sitting room. An inviting, but formal green couch was flanked by two end tables. Several painted wooden decorations, arched like the windows of a church, stood against the room’s walls and a large carpet with diamond patterns in black and red covered most of the hardwood floor. Light filtered into the room through a bay window which was flanked by two tall, but skinnier windows. The panes of all three were cut in a distinctive diamond and oval-shaped pattern. “Some rooms, like this one, are fine. They just need some cleaning and a few repairs. In this case, we just finished cleaning out the chimney,” he gestured toward the windows, “and reglazing. Others,” he led them into the music room, “are like this.”

“Oh dear,” the Doctor muttered. “This has seen better days.” 

The room had an un-lived in feel. The furniture, including a dusty piano, were pushed to the edges of the room, which made the worn carpet even more obvious. Strips of wallpaper were missing, exposing the wall underneath. The edges of other strips curled away from the wall as if they too could let go at any moment. 

Nyssa frowned. “I wonder why the previous owners let it get to this state?” 

“Mrs. Hill - Hazel Hill - was very elderly. From what Mr. Dudley says, she was bedridden at the end. Jaqueline, her daughter, hadn’t lived here for some time, so it was just Mrs. Hill and the Dudleys. And it’s a big place, much bigger than it looks from the outside even.” 

Next, he led them into the library. The room was two-stories high, with book shelves covering most of the walls on the lower level and gaps left for the windows. The upper level was a balcony covering half of the room and contained even more bookshelves and books. At the far side of the room was a blank wall and, in front of that, a free-standing spiral staircase made of iron bent back on itself as it wound its way to the second floor. From the angle they were standing at, the time and space travelers could barely see the open doorway at the top of the stairs. 

“Oh,” Nyssa gasped in delight, “this is lovely.” 

“Quite impressive,” the Doctor nodded. 

Tegan was nonplussed. She sidestepped to avoid tripping over several cardboard boxes stacked on the floor. “That staircase looks like a real death trap.”

“Tegan,” Nyssa began, embarrassed.

“I’m just saying,” her friend replied defensively, “they have small children.” Looking around, she changed the subject. “And what’s with all the boxes?”

“When Mrs. Hill died, the family sold us everything including all of the furniture and other belongings. We’re slowly going through it, but it’s a lot of stuff. Liv and I thought we’d have a yard sale before we sold the place on.”

“That’s odd, isn’t it?” The Doctor took a book off the shelf. “Some of these look quite valuable.”

“I wouldn’t know, old books aren’t really my thing.” 

“And we’ve seen what are presumably family portraits hanging in several rooms. Not to mention all the works of art.” He turned to Hugh. “Didn’t the family want any of it?”

Hugh shrugged. “Apparently not.” He spotted movement among the boxes and his eyes twinkled as he walked slowly toward toward them. “Another thing about the boxes - they make for excellent places to hide and jump out on unsuspecting visitors.” Right on cue two small children, a boy and girl, jumped out and roared like tiny tigers. Hugh clutched his chest in mock surprise and horror. “Oh no! My heart!” Kneeling, he pulled the giggling twins in for a hug. “You ought to be careful, your old dad’s not as young as he used to be. Come on, I want to introduce you.” Hugh let them go and stood. “These are my youngest, Luke and Nellie.”

“I’m the oldest,” Luke insisted, giving a shy wave to Nyssa and Tegan. 

Nell was studying the Doctor intently. “You’re really old, aren’t you?”

“Nellie,” her father scolded, “that’s not polite.”

“No, she’s right, I am.” The Doctor knelt down so he was on eye level and solemnly held out his hand. “I’m the Doctor. Pleasure to meet you.” 

She shook his hand equally seriously. “Are you going to stay with us?”

“Well, visit at least. My friends and I plan to study your house. Is that alright?”

“It’s not _our_ house.” Letting go of the Doctor’s hand, she took Nyssa’s. “Have you seen the Red Room?”

Nyssa looked confused. “The Red Room?”

“It’s what we call one of the rooms at the top of the spiral staircase, because the door is red.” Hugh headed up the staircase, “We don’t know what the inside looks like because we haven’t managed to get the door open yet, despite trying every key Mr. Dudley knows of.”

“A mystery,” the Doctor said quietly as they climbed the steps. “I love those.” At the top of the spiral staircase he stepped into a narrow corridor and turned right to face an arched door painted a deep, blood red. He tried the handle and it turned freely without opening the door. “This is one of those times I wish I had my sonic screwdriver.”

“You keep saying that,” Tegan replied. She and Luke were the last up the staircase. “But you keep not doing anything about it.” 

“Something more important always comes up.” The Doctor put his shoulder against the door and pushed but it didn’t move. “Solid.” Pulling the device from his pocket, he turned it on. Everyone in the hallway covered their ears as it emitted an obnoxiously loud wail. 

“Turn it off, Doc,” Tegan yelled. “What are you trying to do, deafen us?”

The Doctor fumbled with the device and the sound stopped. Everyone sighed with relief, but the Doctor frowned worriedly. “Interesting,” he said, but wouldn’t elaborate further. “Shall we continue?”


	3. The Residents of Hill House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Nyssa return to the TARDIS for supplies and Tegan has breakfast with the Crains.

“The rest are mostly bedrooms,” Hugh said as they walked away from the Red Room, “at least on this floor.” They turned left and walked past a wall of windows overlooking the forest. Squinting, Tegan made out a graveyard hidden among the trees. The group turned left again and the long second floor corridor lay ahead of them. “Upstairs the former servant’s bedrooms have been converted for other uses and there’s the attic, of course.” 

“This place is massive,” Tegan whistled as they walked past door after door, “every time I think we’re almost done, there are more rooms.” 

Luke tugged on her shirt and pointed through an open door. His oversized glasses made his eyes look huge in his small face. “That’s where the old lady stays.”

“Luke,” his father began warningly.

“But it’s true! We heard her calling for Clara through the telephone-thing.”

The time travelers looked from the child to Hugh, who sighed. “There’s an old fashioned intercom, like what you’d find on sailing ships to allow you to communicate between decks. Anyway, one end is in the master bedroom and the other is in the kitchen. Probably Hazel used it when she wanted to let Mrs. Dudley know she needed something - her first name is Clara.”

“See! And when I went up to see who was talking, I saw her reflection in the metal.” Luke lowered his voice. “She didn’t look alive anymore.”

Shaking his head, Hugh turned to the Doctor. “See what I mean about dreams?”

“But it wasn’t a dream! It was during the day,” Luke glanced at his sister, “and Nellie was there too.” 

“What did I say about knowing the difference between make believe and reality?”

“You know what I think?” The Doctor knelt down. “I think you’re frightened of this house. Am I right?” 

Luke nodded. 

“Then it’s very important we discover if there’s a reason for that. Have you ever heard of the scientific method?” When Luke shook his head, the Doctor continued. “It’s a way of testing things we think are true. First we observe, making sure to measure and document what we can, then we experiment, and finally we adjust our initial ideas to accommodate what we’ve learned.” He gestured to Nyssa and Tegan. “That’s what my friends and I plan to do while we’re here.”

“What the Doctor is trying to say,” Nyssa touched Luke’s head lightly to get his attention, “is we’ll do our best to discover what’s going on here.” 

There was a commotion downstairs and most of the group hurried to the grand staircase to see what was going on. Luke and Tegan lingered behind.

“It was real,” Luke continued quietly. “So was the thing in the basement and the tall man who came into our bedroom on Tuesday night. But, no one ever believes me.”

“Come on, kiddo.” Tegan held out her hand. He looked at her skeptically, but finally took it. “Trust me, we handle this sort of thing all the time. It’s what we do. Fight monsters and solve problems-”

“Monsters,” Luke whispered, eyes wide with surprise.

Tegan nodded. “And running…so much running.” She laughed. “Who needs Jane Fonda when you’ve got the Doctor?”

When they reached the staircase, the others were already downstairs. Hugh looked up at his son. “Breakfast Luke.” As the boy ran downstairs, his father turned his attention to Tegan. “What about you, Miss-”

“Just Tegan. What about me?”

“Your friends said they had to retrieve some equipment. Do you want to stay and have breakfast with us?” 

Tegan weighed being able to have a quiet word with Nyssa and the Doctor with the chance of having food that didn’t come out of the TARDIS food machine. “I’ll stay, if it’s no trouble.” 

— —

“But Tegan-”

“Can look after herself for a while.” The Doctor walked quickly back toward his TARDIS. “There’s something odd going on in that house and I need more information to figure out what.” 

Nyssa hurried to keep up. “But, your tracker-”

“Will help me pinpoint hotspots but that’s all. I want to set up a mobile sensor unit to take readings overnight. Two units, if we can make them in time. One definitely needs to go in front of that Red Room.” 

“Given the dramatic reading you got, I’m inclined to agree. Wait,” Nyssa frowned, “wouldn’t a mobile sensor unit be anachronistic technology for this time period?”

“Yes,” the Doctor waved a hand in the opposite direction, “and if anyone in that household was a scientist I’d be worried. But you heard them: an architect, a contractor, and five children under the age of thirteen. It’ll be fine. I’ll come up with some explanation they’ll believe by the time we get back.”

“If you’re sure.” Nyssa, however, did not sound sure. “I take it you’ve completely ruled out the idea of the Crains building a time machine?”

“Haven’t you?”

“It does seem unlikely.” Nyssa paused, thinking. “I’m a bit worried about Mrs. Crain’s health. If she’s having migraines as often as she says, she could have a serious medical condition. I may bring a diagnostic device from the medical bay with me, just to make sure.”

He grinned back at her. “And you were worried about me bringing in anachronistic tech!” The Doctor stopped in front of the TARDIS. Pulling a key from his pocket, he opened the door and they both disappeared inside. 

— — 

Liv bustled in carrying a platter full of bowls and plates. “I thought we’d eat in the dining room since we have guests. Normally we eat in the kitchen.” Her smile changed into a look of puzzlement. “What about the Doctor and Nyssa?”

“They had an errand to run, evidently.” Tegan pulled a chair away from the table so Luke could scramble onto it and then did the same for Nellie. “But I’m glad you’ve invited me to stay. It’s been ages since I had a home cooked meal.”

“‘Home cooked’ might be overselling it,” Liv laughed. “We have cereal, fruit, and toast and jam. Ah!” She smiled as her other three children stumbled in, yawning and wiping sleep from their eyes. “The dead have arisen. Tegan, this is Steven, Shirley, and Theo, short for Theodora-” 

“Mom,” Theo complained, rolling her eyes as she flopped into a chair. 

All three of the older Crain children had dark hair like their parents and Nellie, which made Tegan wonder where Luke’s blonde hair came from. If they felt any embarrassment in a stranger seeing them in their pajamas, they didn’t show it. In fact, they mostly looked grumpy and tired. 

“Help yourselves.” Liv’s smile took in her children and Tegan. “I’ll make some coffee.”

“Already on it.” Hugh wander in from the direction of the kitchen. “Should be ready in a few minutes.” 

“Bless you,” Liv said, as he kissed her forehead. She met Tegan’s eyes. “Unless you’d prefer tea? I think we have some Earl Grey somewhere-”

“Coffee’s fine. Don’t go to any extra effort for me-”

“You talk funny,” Luke mumbled around a spoonful of cereal. “Why?”

“I’m Australian.” She wrinkled her nose at him as she reached for an orange. To her surprise, she found Nellie already holding out one for her. “And from where I’m sitting, you’re the ones who talk funny.”

“What are you doing here if you’re from Australia?” 

Tegan took a piece of toast before answering Theo’s question. “They do let us out of the country. It’s not like it’s a penal colony any more.” She eyed the girl’s hands. “Why are you wearing gloves? It’s summer here, right?”

“She wears them all the time now.” Shirley observed primly as she poured milk on her cereal. “It’s a bit weird.” 

“No it isn’t,” their mother interrupted, patting both girls on their heads. “Your sister just gets cold in this drafty old house.” 

“It’s really not that drafty,” Steven pointed out. 

“Just because you don’t feel it, doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

Steven stuck his tongue out at Theo and she returned the gesture. 

“Behave yourselves,” Liv admonished as she sat down at the table. She turned to Tegan. “I’m so sorry-”

Tegan chuckled and shook her head. “No worries. I grew up with brothers and heaps of cousins, I know what big families are like.” 

Hugh carried in three mugs of coffee, placing one each in front of his wife and Tegan before finding his own chair. “Liv tells me you’re a stewardess?”

“Used to be.” Tegan spread raspberry jam on her toast. “I always loved flying, ever since I was a little girl and my dad took me up in his plane. He was a farmer - raised sheep and cattle, among other things. But he died several years back-”

“I’m sorry-”

“Thanks. Anyway, I thought being a stewardess rather than a pilot would help me see the world faster, so that’s what I did for a while until something better came along.”

“Your work with the Doctor?”

She nodded and took a bite of toast so she wouldn’t have to elaborate. 

“What’s he like?” Liv sipped her coffee. “I couldn’t help noticing he wears a piece of celery on his lapel, which seems an eccentric fashion statement.”

Tegan laughed. “That’s the Doc all over. He’ll use a million words, all a mile long, when a handful would do. Mind you, he’s brilliant - don’t tell him I said that though, his ego doesn’t need the shine. But he’s a good person under all the hapless enthusiasm and cricket clothes.” 

“And Nyssa?”

Tegan’s smile softened. “She’s wonderful. Just the best person I’ve ever known. Makes me wish I was more like her.” She sipped her coffee. “And she’s about as smart as the Doctor, more so in some ways. They’ll do whatever it takes to help you-” 

“Help us?” Steven quirked an eyebrow at his father.

“Tegan’s friend, the Doctor, thinks there’s an energy field in or around Hill House. It could explain your mom’s headaches.”

“The house-things probably cause that,” Luke looked to his mother. “Right mom?”

“It’s probably something that occurs naturally in the area or maybe some unshielded wiring, given the age of this place.”

“What about the other things?” Shirley looked hopefully at Tegan. “Like the banging on the walls or the barking dogs?”

“I still think the banging was the pipes.” Hugh shrugged. “And the dogs are probably just pets from the village who are let out at night. They’re probably chasing rabbits in the forest-”

Shirley pressed on. “But the Dudleys never hear them-”

From the distance, they heard the sounds of a door opening and closing, followed by footsteps and a male voice calling out a question.

“We’re in the dining room!” Hugh took a last swig of coffee before getting up. “Speak of the devil, here they are.”

A man and a woman walked into the dining room. Both appeared slightly older than Liv and Hugh, but Tegan’s general impression was of two far older people due to their old-fashioned clothes. Horace Dudley was heavily bearded with a deep, gravely voice. His wife, Clara, was tall and thin, with her dark hair pulled severely back into a bun. They both eyed Tegan warily. 

“Have I got jam on my face,” Tegan asked, staring back at them defiantly.

Clara Dudley cleared her throat and her gaze drifted past Tegan to Liv. “I’ll start cleaning the sheets in the spare rooms, Mrs. Crain, if that is alright with you?”

“Thank you, Clara. I’ll come help you in a minute. I’m afraid we got a late start this morning.” 

“It’s no problem, ma’am.” She nodded politely in a way that seemed to take in the whole room and hurried in the direction of the grand staircase. 

“Horace and I are working on the roof today,” Hugh said as he joined the other man.

“Be careful,” Liv began.

“We will. You kids make sure to keep out of your mom’s way.” With a cheery wave, Hugh left with Horace.

“Can I do something?” Tegan picked up her plate and carried it to the kitchen. “I hate just sitting around and who knows when the Doctor and Nyssa will be back.”

“We could have tea party,” Nell suggested.

“You just had breakfast, it’s too early for a tea party,” her mother teased. 

Luke grinned broadly. “We could play hide and seek!”

“I could show you my video game,” Stevie put in.

Theo stood to carry her plate into the kitchen. “I’m going outside to read.”

“All of you are going back upstairs to get dressed and brush your teeth.” Liv tried to herd her children out of the room. “Then we’ll see what Ms. Tegan would like to do.”

“I was a dab hand at hide and seek when I was a nibbler. Mind you,” Tegan grinned at Steve, “I’ve been known to play a bit of Donkey Kong from time to time.”

“Teeth first.” Once the kids were gone, she smiled apologetically. “I’m going to get dressed too. Make yourself at home.” 

“Thanks,” Tegan called after her as Liv disappeared down the corridor. Suddenly alone, Tegan wandered around the downstairs for a while. She passed a room that looked like an office, Liv’s if the floor plans and rulers were any indication, through the sunroom, through one of the doorways flanking the main staircase, and back into the library. “Such a nice family in such a creepy house.” After a moment Tegan raised her voice - not loud enough to disturb the Crains but enough to fill the room. “If there’s something here, some creature or alien or evil force, I want you to know that we’ll stop you. Whatever you’re doing, we’ll stop you.” 

There was no reply, just heavy silence. Tegan glanced up to the doorway at the top of the spiral staircase and she shivered despite the warmth of the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of the characters, minus the Hills and their...associates, are have been introduced at last. Huzzah! Now I can get into the interesting stuff.


	4. The Search Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor sends Tegan on an errand and Nyssa plays hide and seek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for the audios "Iterations of I" and "Aquitaine" below.

“Ready?”

Nyssa struggled to shift the mobile sensor unit so that she had a better grip on it. The device had a square base but a domed top that her fingers kept slipping off. It didn’t help that the whole thing was about the size of a microwave oven. “I’m beginning to wish we’d made these things smaller…or that you’d parked the TARDIS closer.” The bag slung over her shoulder slid off and she groaned. “A bit of help, please?”

“Hmmm?” The Doctor locked the TARDIS one-handed, the other sensor unit balanced precariously on his hip. Glancing around, he frowned - unsure of what she meant. 

She wiggled her shoulder. “The medical pack.”

“Oh, of course.” Picking the pack off the ground, he maneuvered it around her shoulders so that she could wear it cross body. “There. Shall we?”

They trudged through the woods and back to the house. “Will one night will be enough to get an adequate reading,” Nyssa gasped as she struggled to keep up with the Doctor’s long strides. 

“Those extra TARDIS sensors I adapted should be able to pick up a wide spectrum of information and the thalomenic processors you devised should more than handle the amount of data. So perhaps? Ideally I’d like to have a few days, but that depends on the good graces of the Crains. Here we are!” Bobbling the device slightly, he shifted it enough to allow him to open the door for her. 

Nyssa sighed with relief as she gently lowered her burden into a corner of the entrance hall and stepped aside so the Doctor could do the same. “I wonder where everyone is?”

“Good question.” The Doctor listened for a moment but heard nothing. “Hello,” he called loudly. “We’re back. Tegan? Hugh?” 

“In here!” They followed the sound of Liv’s voice through one of the doors behind the grand staircase, through the solarium to a small office. Liv, wearing a robin’s egg blue dress now, was hunched over a drafting board making careful marks with a pencil. She smiled when she caught sight of them. “If you’re looking for Tegan, my children talked her into a game of hide and seek.” She gestured in a circle with her pencil. “They’ll all be around here somewhere.”

“I hope she hasn’t been in the way-”

“Are you kidding?” Liv laughed. “She’s been a delight-”

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. “I imagine that’s the first time that’s ever been said about Tegan,” he muttered, earning an elbow in the side from Nyssa. 

“It must be difficult,” Nyssa said, giving the Doctor a stern glare, “repairing this place while also raising a family.”

Liv shrugged. “Hugh and I take turns minding the kids and we involve them as much as we can. We both feel it’s important to introduce them to as many ideas and opportunities as possible. You know, to prepare them for whatever they end up doing in the world.” She lowered her voice to a confidential whisper. “Although getting a free moment on your own is sometimes a challenge, which is why Tegan’s presence this morning has been ideal.”

They heard voices on the stairs and the sounds of many feet running. Soon Nellie, Luke, Steven, and Shirley jostled into the room, followed at a more sedate pace by Tegan. 

“I won!” Nellie grabbed her mother’s hand and jumped in place excitedly. “I won the game, no one could find me!”

“Did you?” Liv grinned back at her. “Well done.”

“Yeah she’s a right little chameleon.” Tegan patted the girl’s head. “Walked past her three times and still didn’t see her.” She grinned at Nyssa and the Doctor. “You two should’ve hung around, we’ve been having a blast.”

“Then I’m sorry to take you away from it, but I’ve an errand for you to run.” The children gave an assortment of groans and complaints, which made the Doctor smile. He held up his hands in a mollifying gesture. “I’m sorry, but it must be done.” He glanced at Nyssa. “Perhaps Nyssa could take Tegan’s place?”

“Me?” Nyssa looked taken aback. “But won’t you need me to help set up the sensors?”

“Yes, but I have to decide where to place them first, and it only takes one of us to use the tracker to check all the rooms.” He turned his attention to Liv. “Mrs. Crain, we left some diagnostic equipment in your entryway. I’d like to leave it running overnight, if I may.”

She frowned slightly. “What does it do?”

“The devices will detect the composition of any energy fields in the house, as well as noting any fluctuations in the strength of that energy. It may help me determine if this is a man-made issue or a natural phenomenon to know whether the fields are constant or wax and wain during specific periods. And since this house is so large, I brought two of them.”

“I see.” She nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem as long as they’re not in the way. I don’t want the children or anyone else to trip over them.”

“I’ll do my best.” He tilted his head toward the front door. “Shall we, Tegan?”

“Doctor-” Nyssa began, but he was already out of the room.

Tegan smiled and patted her friend’s arm. “Think of it this way, you never got to play with other kids when you were growing up. Now’s your chance.” 

“Yes but,” Tegan gave a cheery wave and then she too was gone. Nyssa let out a deep breath and looked at the children standing arrayed around her. “Right. So how does ‘hide and seek’ work, exactly?” 

— — 

“Hey Doc,” Tegan lowered her voice as they stepped outside, “there’s something going on in this house.”

“I agree, but why-”

“The kids have all seen or experienced things. Grotesque creatures in the basement, something banging on walls, this thing Nell calls the ‘Bent Neck Lady’-” 

“That sounds unpleasant-”

“They’re scared. Well, the twins are at any rate, the older kids seem more ambivalent about it. But here’s the thing - not all the time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, one minute they’ll be complaining about how much they hate living here and the next they’ll talk about how great it is.”

“As you say, ambivalent-

“It’s more than that.” Tegan wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s like they forget. Like something’s making them forget how they feel. Doctor, I think something’s in that house. Maybe it’s alien or maybe it’s actually ghosts-”

The Doctor gave her a wry smile. “How many times have we gone into a situation where there’s suppose to be ghosts and the truth turns out to be nothing of the sort?”

Tegan thought a bit. “Twice at least. That time on that island near Ireland-”

“When it was two kinds of creatures from another dimension masquerading as sentient numbers, yes.”

“And onboard the _Aquitaine_ , when we met Jeeves.” 

“Hargreaves,” he corrected her, “the robot butler. And in that case it was time leakage caused the ship’s proximity to a black hole.”

“What’s your point? That there’s no such thing as ghosts?”

“I’ve never met any, and given all the places I’ve been and all the things I’ve seen, that’s saying something.” He looked up at the house. “But there’s a first time for everything.”

“Alright, have it your way. But if Casper the not so friendly ghost kills me or Nyssa, don’t be surprised if I haunt you until you do something about it.”

“I would expect nothing less.”

“What’s this thing you want me to do?”

“There’s a town nearby; I want you to go there and find out what you can about this place. Try the library if there is one, but if not find the local watering hole and make conversation.”

“You want me to walk to this place? Through a forest I don’t know? What if I get lost?”

“It can’t be too far, you can hear it from the TARDIS.”

“Great, go yourself or send Nyssa-”

“We have equipment to set up. Besides, you’re from this time period, more or less. You’ll fit in better and I want to avoid awkward questions, if possible. Speaking of which,” he broke off speaking to give a friendly smile and wave to Hugh and Mr. Dudley who had just rounded the house. “Good morning. At work already, I see.”

“There’s lots to do.” As they approached, the pair laid down the ladders they had been carrying. Hugh gestured between the time travelers and the man at his side. “Horace Dudley. Tegan you’ve met, but this is the Doctor.”

“Hugh’s told me what you said about the house.” The bearded man eyed them skeptically. “You think it’s something you can fix?”

“We can but try.” The Doctor slipped his hands in his pockets. “Tell me, how long does it take to get to the closest town?”

“It’s about a five minute drive, maybe a twenty minute walk.”

The Doctor ignored Tegan’s glare. “Is there a library there, by any chance?”

“I’m not sure, we’ve not lived here long.” Hugh glanced to Horace who nodded.

“A small one-”

“With a local history section by any chance?”

Mr. Dudley shrugged. “Can’t say. I was born here, you see - never needed to know more about the place than I learned growing up. But the librarian, Ms. Sullivan - Judith Sullivan - should be able to tell you more.”

“I knew a Harry Sullivan once,” the Doctor mused. “Good. I’m sending Tegan there-”

“Speaking of which,” Hugh looked around, “where are you parked? It’s just, I didn’t see any cars I didn’t recognize while we were up on the roof-”

“Probably hidden by the trees. Sad to say it’s…um, a stick shift, which she can’t drive-”

Tegan looked indignantly at him. She’d been driving nothing but since the first time she borrowed her father’s truck to sneak off to the movies with Mike Bretherton in high school.

“We could take you. Horace and I have to run to the hardware store anyway.”

“That would be fantastic, thank you” She eyed the Doctor. “See ya, Doc. Try to stay out of trouble.” 

“You know me.”

“That’s why I said it.” With a wave, she joined Hugh and Horace as they made ready to leave. 

— —

Nyssa’s father, Tremas, was a consul on the planet Traken. She had grown up among the nobility, learning courtly manners along with an intense study of science, particularly the discipline of bioelectronics. What games she’d played had been educational in nature - tests of the mind or strategy, played against her parents while sitting beside the fire at night. The only others her own age were the children of the Fosters - a functionary group, one part servant class and one part security force. She often heard the children of the Fosters playing in the Grove, but she was never allowed to join them.

Not for the first time, Nyssa wished her childhood had been different. If it had, she might be better at hide and seek. 

“Hello,” she called tentatively, peeking into rooms as she passed them. She had wandered around Hill House for what felt like ages, but she’d seen no one. “You can all come out now - I think it’s safe to say you won.” She stepped into a room with a large teddy bear in an overstuffed armchair. Light from the room’s lone window fell on a kid-sized table set up for a tea party, apparently being enjoyed by two other stuffed animals sitting on either side of the table. Other toys lay scattered haphazardly around. “Nell? Luke? Are you in here?”

She tried another room. Most of the furniture was covered with sheets and pushed against the right-hand wall. A couch, beanbag, and TV took up the left side of the room. Stepping inside, Nyssa heard an electronic tune coming from the television and picked up a controller laying discarded in the middle of the beanbag. “Some kind of primitive computer simulation?” The light from the window brought out the highlights in her curly brown hair as she studied pixelated images on the screen. “No, a computer game.” Setting the controller back down, she went back into the hallway. “Steve? Shirley?” 

When Nyssa opened the next door, she gasped. “A laboratory?” She wandered across to a counter where a series of test tubes and other scientific paraphernalia sat in orderly rows as if waiting for a scientist who had just recently stepped away from their experiments. “A primitive one, but still. Fairly well-stocked for this time period. I wonder why they have a laboratory in a house like this?” She opened the cabinet on the wall near the window and found additional equipment. “Better yet, I wonder if there’s anything the Doctor and I can use to learn more about the energy fields?” 

She spent the next hour and a half inventorying the contents of the room - the Doctor, Artron energy, and the game of hide and seek almost completely forgotten. For the first time since stepping into Hill House, Nyssa felt completely at home. 

— —

“That’s the upstairs taken care of.” The Doctor pulled a small pad of paper from his pocket and made a few notations. “With the highest concentrations found in the master bedroom and the area outside the Red Room.” He took off his reading glasses with an impatient gesture and slipped them back into an inner pocket of his coat. “It’s a shame I can’t get inside. Still, perhaps I have something in the TARDIS workroom that could help with that? Must take a look tonight.” Holding up his tracker, he walked from room to room, taking down occasional notes about energy levels and muttering to himself. 

“What are you doing?”

The Doctor looked up to see a small girl with long, dark brown hair staring at him. In one hand she clutched a book, in the other she held a glass of water, which she sipped from periodically. She wore long, white gloves over her hands and wrists. 

“Taking readings.” He slipped the pad of paper and the tracker into a pocket. “Let’s see, you must be either Theo or Shirley-”

“Theo.” She looked him up and down. “You don’t look like a doctor.”

“That’s because I’m THE Doctor. The definite article, you might say.”

“What does that even mean? 

“Sometimes I wonder the same thing. Tell me, Theo, what would you say is the strangest thing about this house?” 

She tilted her head, thinking. “How cold it is…and the smell.” 

“Smell?”

“It smells like…old people.” 

“I see.” He took a deep breath and smelled nothing but dust and burnt toast. “Anything else?” 

Theo brought the book up to her chest and leaned her chin on it. “The secret basement.”

That got his attention. “Show me.”

Theo led him to a corner of the kitchen and directed him to move some old fashioned cooking equipment out of the way. Below was the faint outline of a trap door. When the Doctor pulled it open he saw a ladder going down into darkness. “What’s in there?”

She shrugged again. “Barrels…and there’s a door that hid shelves of old books. Mom said they were ledgers for a bootlegging business the Hills must have run in the old days.”

“I see, hence the need for a secret basement.” His eyes spotted the dumbwaiter across the room with its up and down arrows. “Does the dumbwaiter go down there too?”

Theo followed his gaze. “Yeah, that’s how I found the basement. Luke begged me to let him ride in it, but when I pressed the up button it went down instead. And then-” She went silent and clutched her book harder. 

“And he saw the thing in the basement.” The Doctor said it as a statement not a question. When Theo's surprised eyes darted to his, he gave her an easy smile. “Just putting together some things your brother told Tegan. Let me guess: your parents don’t believe he saw anything?” She shook her head. “But you do?” 

This time she nodded. “You believe us?”

“I try to keep an open mind.” The Doctor looked at the darkness below. “Nothing for it, I suppose.” Taking hold of the ladder, he climbed down. 

The dusty smell increased, tickling the Doctor’s nose and making him want to sneeze. “Is there a light or something down here? It’s not that I’m afraid of the dark, but I would hate to trip over something. That would be so very embarrassing.” With sharp, metallic ting, a string of old light bulbs flickered on. The Doctor turned and was surprised to see Theo standing behind him, her hand on the switch. He hadn’t heard her climb down after him. “You’re right,” he took in the room in a quick glance, “not much here. I wonder-” Taking the tracker out of his pocket, the Doctor turned it on. It let out out an enormous squeal, nearly as loud as the one in front of the Red Room. He quickly shut it off and, taking out his pencil and notepad, recorded the readings. “As I thought. This would be an ideal place to leave one of the sensors.” 

Theo came up beside him and tilted her head to see. He held the pad out so she could get a better look and she reached for it. The Doctor realized she had removed her gloves a second before her bare fingers touched his hand.

With a gasp, Theo pulled her hand back and shook her head as if trying to clear it. 

“Psychic feedback?” The Doctor blinked, momentarily stunned. Realizing Theo was in distress, he approached her and asked gently, “Are you alright? You must have had quite the shock.” 

Theo took a step back, staring at him wide-eyed. Turning, she scrambled up the ladder and he heard the clatter of her footsteps running across the wooden floor of the kitchen.

The Doctor watched her go, his shoulders slumping slightly. “Oh dear.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For more about Nyssa's childhood, listen to the wonderful Big Finish audio "[The Toy](https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-short-trips-the-toy-1544)" by Nigel Fairs. That audio will be referenced again later in this story, which is why I added it to the tags. I also added tags for a whole bunch of other Fifth Doctor stories that I think I'll be referencing. Some of those I'm more sure of than others - "Snakedance" and "Caves of Androzani" are definitely going to be part of the story, the others are more like a possibility. If it turns out that I don't use them, I'll delete the tags, of course.
> 
> The two adventures Five and Tegan mention during their conversation about ghosts are "[Iterations of I](https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-fifth-doctor-adventures-volume-01-1014)" by John Dorney and "[Aquitaine](https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-aquitaine-1048)" by Simon Barnard and Paul Morris. Both of them are among my favorite Fifth Doctor stories, but since I'm only name dropping them they aren't in the tags.
> 
> Other references that won't impact much of anything story-wise: Mike Bretherton appears in the Lost Stories audio "[Hexagora](https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-hexagora-414)" by Peter Ling and Hazel Adair, adapted by Paul Finch. Harry Sullivan was a Fourth Doctor companion.


	5. End of Day 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The TARDIS team regroups at the end of the first day.

“Doctor.” Nyssa found him on the grand staircase, staring at the grandfather clock under the stained glass window. She called his name again as she neared him, but he didn’t move. “Doctor? Can you hear me?”

She touched his arm and at last he stirred. Shaking himself like a newly awakened golden retriever, he smiled at her. “Ah Nyssa. I was looking for Theo - you haven’t seen her, have you?”

“No but Doctor, I’ve found-”

“Odd that.” The Doctor scratched his head. “Perhaps she slipped outside while I was searching?”

“Doctor-”

“A mystery to investigate another time.” He frowned at her. “Weren’t you playing hide and seek?”

“I couldn’t find anyone, this house is a maze. But Doctor,” she touched his arm lightly again, “I found a laboratory.”

His frown deepened. “What? Where?”

“On the second floor, hidden among the bedrooms. It’s in keeping with this time period’s scientific development, but there’s a lot of equipment up there.”

“That is odd. Although, given the idiosyncratic nature of the house, perhaps it’s not too surprising.” He tilted his head, thinking. “Bootlegging.”

“What?”

“The Hills smuggled and sold bootlegged alcohol back when such things were illegal in this country. Perhaps the lab you found was part of that illicit business?” He shook his head. “But why go through the trouble of hiding the bootlegging operation in a secret basement while keeping the lab in the house-proper where anyone could stumble upon it?”

“Could it be for scientific experiments? Perhaps your hypothesis about someone playing with time travel was correct, it just happened years, maybe decades in the past?”

“It’s a possibility.” He gestured up the stairs. “Lead the way and let’s see if we can find out.”

But, although they both searched the whole of the house, neither of them could find the lab again. 

— — 

It was late afternoon by the time Tegan knocked on the door of the TARDIS. “Hello? Doctor? Nyssa? Liv said you left a while ago so I hope you’re in there.” She looked around the darkening forest. “I don’t fancy stumbling around searching for you if you aren’t.” The door unlocked with a click and Tegan suppressed a relieved smile. 

“How did it go,” the Doctor asked without looking up when she joined him at the console. 

Tegan shrugged. “Okay I guess. The librarian is really nice. She said she’d pull some newspapers and other stuff related to the house and have it ready tomorrow. Otherwise the trip was pretty much a bust. I went to a diner in town but I didn’t find out much. The locals were chatty enough until I mentioned Hill House and then they clammed up.”

He looked up at that. “All of them? You couldn’t find one busy-body? There’s one in every town.”

“Maybe they were eating at home today. How am I supposed to know? What about you and Nyssa? Find any more evidence of this Artron stuff?”

“I found quite a few hot spots, more than we can study with the devices we have. We deployed the monitoring stations in two of the most active locations and I’m going to try to develop something smaller tonight.” He leaned against the console and folded his arms. “What did you think of Theo?”

Tegan blinked, surprised by the sudden change of subject. “Barely saw her. She went off on her own after breakfast.”

“First impressions?”

“Kinda fearless for a kid her age. Bit of a loner. Why?”

“You noticed she wears gloves?”

“Yeah sure. Shirley teased her about it. Liv said it was because the house was cold.”

“She was showing me a secret basement in the house,” he waved off her question before she could voice it, “long story. Anyway, she touched my hand with her bare hand and we both experienced some sort of psychic shock. Then she took off and I wasn’t able to find her.” 

“So…what does that mean?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I’m working on a theory. If she and her siblings have latent psychic abilities that could help explain some of what they’ve experience in the house.”

“What does Nyssa think?” Tegan looked around. “And where is she, anyway?”

“She went to your room, said she was tired. I was about to check on her when you knocked.”

“I’ll do it then.” She walked to the doors that lead further inside the TARDIS. “You should get to work building your gizmos.”

“I have a few tests to run first. Make sure you get some rest too. Tomorrow is likely to be a busy day for all of us.” 

— —

Nyssa wandered through the hallways of Hill House looking for something, but she couldn’t remember what. “Nell? Luke? Liv? Is anyone here?” The second floor corridor stretched endlessly out in front of her and the doors all looked the same. She opened one and found a large swimming pool inside. The next six doors revealed a squash court, the library, a garden-like cemetery, a music room, and an infirmary. It wasn’t until the seventh door that she realized what was bothering her. 

“The Cloister Room?” She stepped inside and ran her hands along the familiar columns, benches, and plants. “But this in the TARDIS. How can it be here?” She turned to look at the corridor but it had changed to the white walls and roundels of a TARDIS corridor. 

“What’s going on?” Nyssa tentatively stepped out into the corridor. “Is this a dream or-” A loud bell interrupted her thought. “The Cloister Bell? Oh no!” Turning, she ran in what she hoped was the direction of the control room. The corridors twisted around her, creating a fun-house effect and making it impossible to tell up from down. After what felt like an eternity of running, Nyssa stumbling into the console room with a gasp of relief. 

The room was empty. “Doctor? Tegan?” She rushed to the console and studied the readings. “System error? Something is forcing its way through the real world interface.” She flipped a lever and the scanner screen lowered. As the static cleared away she gasped again, this time in horror. The screen showed a field of stars twinkling in the darkness of space, but the darkness was moving, expanding to swallow worlds and galaxies. “Entropy,” Nyssa moaned, leaning against the console for support, “the same thing that destroyed Traken. Not again-” 

The image flickered and now instead of space she saw a plaster wall covered in faded and pealing wallpaper. But the darkness was still there, spreading in feathery tendrils. It covered the wall and then reached out and through the screen into the TARDIS itself. “That’s not possible,” Nyssa yelled as it engulfed the walls and floor around the screen. The Cloister Bell rang louder and the normal hum of the TARDIS became a wheezing whine. 

“No! Stay away!” Nyssa backed up until she was almost on top of the console. The darkness was all around her now, leaving her no escape either out the main doors or back into the TARDIS’s corridors. 

A cold clamminess touched her ankle. Nyssa glanced down to see her leg disappearing into the void. She screamed.

— — 

“Nyssa!” Inside their shared bedroom, Tegan shook her friend gently. “Wake up!” 

Nyssa’s eyes blinked open. Seeing Tegan, she grasped her shoulders and held on tight. “Oh Tegan! It was horrible.”

“Must have been, you were screaming. But everything’s okay, it was just a dream-” Tegan paused and shook her head. Smiling ruefully, she helped Nyssa sit up in her bed. “Sorry, old habits. We both know from experience sometimes dreams can be dangerous. Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes, thank you. It’s just…I dreamed entropy was destroying the TARDIS.”

“The stuff that destroyed your home world and killed all your people? No wonder you screamed-”

“That’s exactly what it was like at first, but then it changed and became something…I don’t know, organic. A creature or perhaps a plant.” Nyssa let go of Tegan and pulled up her own legs to hug them. “It touched me and I felt…like it was eating me from the inside.”

“Well you’re safe now. Nothing can get into the TARDIS, not with the doors shut anyway.” Tegan stood and pulled a paper sack out of her bag. “I brought you something to eat from town. It’s probably cold by now, so why I don’t I heat it up and, when I come back, you can tell me everything I missed at the haunted house.”

— —

“…we searched everywhere, but we never found the lab.”

“That’s weird,” Tegan admitted watching Nyssa eat her hamburger and french fries. “Come to think of it, I saw a room that I couldn’t find my way back to while I was playing with the kids. It was a kind of games room with a pool table, chess board, and darts.” She laughed. “Looked like a good place to spend a lazy Friday afternoon.” Her smile faded. “What do you think’s going on?”

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think the rooms are moving around.”

“That’s a comfort. It’s bad enough when that happens in the TARDIS-”

“But perhaps there’s some sort of perception filter preventing us from finding them again?”

“Why would anyone do that? I can see why someone might want to hide a lab, but a games room? What would be the point?”

“You’re assuming there’s conscious intent behind this, that might not be the case. As the Doctor says, the house is full of energy fields. Perhaps one of the side effects is disorientation?” Nyssa crumpled up the empty wrappers. “But this is all conjecture. We won’t know anything until we get readings back from the devices we left behind.”

“Where did you end up putting them?”

“Outside the Red Room and in this secret cellar Theo showed the Doctor. Did he tell you about the psychic shock?”

Tegan nodded. “Could that be what’s going on with all of this? Some of the kids are psychic and are picking up on these fields?”

“It could explain my experiences and why Hugh doesn’t seem to think anything’s wrong. I mean, other than not being able to find that room again the house doesn’t seem to have any affect on you.”

Tegan chuckled. “And I’m about as psychic as a potted plant. But what about the Doctor? I thought he was psychic - why isn’t he affected?”

“He is, but he’s a bit,” Nyssa lifted an eyebrow meaningfully, “vague about the nature of his abilities. Sometimes I’m not sure he knows very much about them himself or maybe it changes from regeneration to regeneration.”

“What-” Tegan started as Nyssa slapped her leg angrily. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s so stupid.” Pushing her hair behind her ears, Nyssa sighed and turned back to Tegan. “I took a medical device with me when we brought the sensors to the house. I meant to run some tests on Liv, but with searching for the lab and placing the arrays it completely slipped my mind.”

Tegan shrugged. “Do it tomorrow-”

“Yes, but you don’t understand. I left the medical kit in the house where anyone could find it.” 

“What’s in there?” Tegan stood. “Anything dangerous?”

“No, but we should retrieve it-”

There was a rapid knock on the door and the Doctor bounded in. “Feeling better,” he asked hurriedly, eyes sweeping both of their faces. “Good, good,” he replied absentmindedly as they nodded, “grab some torches, there have been developments.”


	6. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The TARDIS team explores at night and meets some unexpected visitors.

“Fascinating,” the Doctor muttered breathlessly leaning close to the console. “Nyssa,” he straightened and stepped aside to make room for her at the controls, “take a look at these readings.”

Nyssa frowned, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. “But…where is it coming from?”

The Doctor grinned. “Everywhere.” 

“That’s…amazing.”

“Would one of you like to explain what’s happening to those of us who don’t go weak-kneed at the sight of a Bunson burner?”

Nyssa glanced at Tegan. “The readings have doubled.”

“What readings?”

The Doctor gestured for Tegan to join them. “When we returned to the TARDIS, I hooked my tracker back up to the console. Since then I’ve been running periodic checks on the ambient Artron levels.”

“With you so far-”

Reaching between the two young women, the Doctor pointed at a readout. “This was at 130 when we landed and its been that way every time I checked the unit until about five minutes ago.”

“It’s at 267 now.”

“Right! Roughly twice as much ambient Artron energy.” 

“What has changed?” Nyssa walked around the control room, thinking out loud. “Is there something in the environment that could explain this?” She paused in front of the scanner which showed only a few trees nearest the ship now that night had fallen. “Surely it’s not coming from the house at this distance?”

“I don’t know.” He brandished a torch and disconnected the tracker. “And I know of only one way to find out.”

Tegan and Nyssa picked up their own torches and followed him outside. “So much for an early night and getting some rest,” Tegan grumbled. 

— —

They retraced their path from the morning, through the forest to the house. The night was warm. A light breeze whispered through the trees, causing the moonlight to cast odd shadows that made Tegan flinch and hurriedly search the darkness with her torch beam. Nyssa and the Doctor were slightly ahead of her, both of their heads bent over the tracker. 

The Doctor stopped suddenly. “Now this is interesting.” He moved the device from side to side. “The house is clearly a hot spot,” he moved the tracker to the right, “but there’s another hot spot in this direction. I suppose we could split up-” 

“There’s only one tracker, what would be the point?”

“True. So house or whatever’s over here?” The Doctor considered for a second. “Well, I do like a mystery.” With a nod to the others, he headed in the direction of the second set of readings. 

They walked through an open field with the house and its gardens on their left. Other than the sound of cicadas, the night was quiet. 

“Wait,” Nyssa pointed ahead of them, “are those lights?”

The Doctor squinted in the direction she’d indicated. “I don’t see anything.” 

“Maybe fireflies,” Tegan suggested. “I thought I saw some a bit earlier-”

“This looked too large to be any Earth insect.” She pointed again. “See? There!” Not waiting for the others, Nyssa ran in the direction of the lights. 

Tegan hurried after her. “Hey, wait for me!”

“Don’t get too far ahead,” the Doctor called. Grumbling quietly, he followed them. 

The wind in the trees picked up as Nyssa and Tegan reached a small graveyard nestled near the tree-line of the forest. Nyssa turned her torch beam on several of the gravestones. “We seem to have found the Hill family,” 

“Great. A cemetery…in the dark…near a creepy house. We really are going for all the cliches.” Tegan snapped her fingers. “I remember seeing this place from upstairs when we were on the tour-”

Nyssa turned in a slow circle. “It’s odd. There’s nothing here that would reflect or cast light.” 

“And no fireflies.”

The Doctor joined them holding the tracker ahead of him. “Yes, it’s definitely higher here.” In the distance, a dog barked. 

“Could the bodies be causing the increased readings?”

Tegan had crept forward to study the inscriptions on the headstones. At Nyssa’s words, she glared at her friend reproachfully. “Nyssa! That’s morbid.”

“No,” she replied calmly, “I’m just thinking through what’s different about this place as opposed to the rest of the grounds.”

“It’s still creepy.” Several dogs barked and Tegan shivered. “That racket isn’t doing my nerves any good either.”

“It’s just dogs, Tegan. Probably pets from the nearby town left out for the night.”

“That’s easy for you to say, Doc.” Tegan returned to look at the graves. “The Crain kids talked about hearing dogs barking at night.”

“And?”

“And Mr. Dudley said he’d never seen or heard any. The Dudleys don’t live far away, so how’s that possible?”

“Are you implying they’re ghost dogs,” the Doctor laughed.

“No! I’m just saying…it’s weird.”

“I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical explanation.” The Doctor held up his torch and illuminated his tracker as he walked a slow circle around the graveyard. “You may be right, Nyssa. The readings seem to be confined to this specific spot.” 

Annoyed at having her concerns ignored, Tegan turned to studying the inscriptions on the gravestones. “George W. Hill,” Tegan read, sweeping her light from stone to stone. “Poor kid, he was only eight years old. Mary Hill…she was six. Jacob Hill. Faye Hill.” She paused. “Poppy Hill and Hazel Hill - those are both newer stones. They must have died fairly recently.”

The wind blew Nyssa’s hair into her eyes and she impatiently pushed it behind her ears. “Could something else be buried here, besides the obvious? A difference in the soil-”

“I was thinking the same thing.” Slipping the tracker into his pocket, the Doctor picked a stick up off the ground and scraped at the soil with it. Once he had cleared away the grass he knelt down. Pulling a small vial from his pocket, he handed his torch to Nyssa while he collected a sample of dirt. Once it was sealed, he put the vial inside his pocket. Standing quickly, he brushed off his trousers and retrieved his torch with a grin. “Something else to study tonight in the TARDIS.”

“We may want to head back there now.” Tegan straightened and sniffed the air. “Smells like rain is on its way.” She jumped when the barking began again. “Cripes! That sounded like it was right behind me.” 

“Close.” The Doctor turned and began backing up, his arms outstretched to keep Nyssa and Tegan behind him. “It came from this direction.”

Amid the rumble of distant thunder came the sound of movement in the darkness. Three huge, black dogs stepped slowly into the torchlight, baring their teeth and growling. Nyssa gasped as the travelers heard more barking coming from the opposite direction. 

Tegan picked up the stick the Doctor had dropped earlier. “They’re surrounding us.”

“Not pets then.” Nyssa turned so she was back-to-back with her friends. “This is behavior you’d normally see from animals hunting prey in the wild.” 

Two more dogs prowled forward in front of Tegan, their eyes glowing red in the torchlight. “There’s nothing about this that’s normal.” 

“You may be right, Tegan,” the Doctor agreed.

“That’s at least the third time today, you should stop sounding so surprised.” 

“We need a plan,” he continued, ignoring her comment.

“We could run?”

“If we run, they’ll chase us and I suspect they’re fairly fast runners. Besides, they outnumber us. I don’t fancy our chances of fighting them off, either.”

“There’s a shed of some kind.” Nyssa shined her light a short distance away to illuminate a small, brick out-building. “If we can make it there, it should offer us protection.” 

One of the dogs snapped at the Doctor. “What we need is a distraction.” Slowly, he reached into his pocket and drew out the tracker. He turned the device on without looking at it, the sensors lighting up and blinking rapidly. “That’s right,” the Doctor said calmly as the three dogs in front of him stared at the object in his hand, “look at the pretty lights. So much more interesting than the three of us.” He turned his head slightly, making sure not to lose sight of the dogs. “Nyssa. Tegan. I want you to move slowly toward the shed-”

“We’re not leaving you,” Nyssa interrupted.

“Too right.”

“I’ll be right behind you,” he assured them. “Literally. Now get moving.” He waved the tracker from left to right, trying to keep the dogs focused on him. “My furry friends and I are just going to have a quiet conversation.”

Rain began to fall as Nyssa reluctantly led the way toward the shed. Tegan moved with her, backing up so that she could keep an eye on the Doctor and the dogs. The two animals nearest her tracked her movements for a few seconds, then turned and started closing in on the Doctor. 

The rain picked up and thunder rumbled, but the Doctor stood his ground. “That’s right, let them go.” He risked a glance backward. “Faster, Tegan.” He kept his voice low and calm. “I’m only going to have one shot at this and I want you both well out of the way.”

Tegan continue her slow, steady pace as Nyssa neared the shed. “What’re we gonna do if that thing’s locked?”

Nyssa tried the handle and pulled the door open. “It isn’t. Tegan, come on.”

“Get a wiggle on, Doc!” 

Three of the dogs lifted their heads at Tegan’s yell. “No, no! Nice dogs. Focus on me, not the loud Australian.” He took a careful step backward and two of the dogs growled. “I made this thing myself and would hate to lose it, but…all things considered, I’ll happily sacrifice it for the cause.” He whistled twice and held out the tracker, waving it in the dogs’ faces like a stick. “Now fetch!” Leaning back, he threw the device as far as he could over their heads. 

The thunder was closer now and the corresponding lightning flashed overhead, illuminating the arc of the tracker as it fell into the clearing. Four of the dogs rushed to follow it, but one stayed with the Doctor. “Well, at least these odds are better.” He continued his slow, steady movement backwards, now buffeted by wind and a downpour of rain. 

Tegan reached the shed and, pushing Nyssa behind her, stood guard at the door.

“He won’t make it.” Nyssa gripped Tegan’s arm. “We need to help him.”

Tegan cupped her hand and yelled again. “Run, Doc!” 

“I’d love to. There’s just one problem…” The black dog darted forward, snarling and snapping at him. “Tegan?” He lifted his right hand slowly and pointed. “Would you be so kind as to throw your stick into those bushes?”

Tegan hefted the stick in the direction he’d indicated and the dog flinched, turning toward the sound of impact. The Doctor, taking advantage of its temporary distraction, bolted toward the shed. 

Thunder roared, loud and close enough they could feel it in their chests. Almost simultaneously, lightning struck a tree near the house, the flash temporarily blinding Tegan and Nyssa. They blinked rapidly, trying to clear their vision. When they could see again, the Doctor was only steps away, the dog running close on his heels. Its jaws snapped, catching on the Doctor’s coat. 

“Get out of the way,” he yelled. The two young women stepped hurriedly aside as he sprinted into the shed, pulling the door closed behind him. 

Nyssa grabbed him to him slow down as Tegan ran to hold the door shut. Nyssa looked him up and down. “Are you alright?” 

The Doctor slipped off his coat and grimaced at the rip in the back. “It bit my coat.” 

The dog barked loudly and threw itself against the door. “Worry about that later! Give me a hand here.” Tegan struggled to hold the door in place as Nyssa and the Doctor joined her. “Is there some way to lock this thing?”

Something growled behind them. Slowly the three time travelers turned to face the bared teeth of a large black dog.

Not far away, within Hill House, the chandelier swung hard once and fell, landing with a deafening crash on the floor of the foyer.


End file.
